1. Why isn’t the Middle School curriculum more like high school? According to Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development, there are 4 stages of metal development in a person’s life: Sensorimotor (birth-2 years), preoperational (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-11 years), formal operational (11-adult). High school students and middle school students are not able to process the same information, because their minds are not in the same place developmentally. This is why the curriculum for the two is different.
2. How will you (the teacher) create a positive classroom environment to accommodate diverse students? From day one, I will encourage creativity and challenge students to be who they really are. Regardless of ethnicity, money or language, it is easy for people to pretend to be someone who they are not. I will challenge my students to be who they are, and I will encourage my students to be accepting of EVERYONE and accept everyone’s differences. We don’t all want to be the same….How boring!
3. How will your teaching be developmentally appropriate? I will constantly be aware of what’s going on in the world around us and adapt my lessons to that. I will relate my lessons to things that are happening TODAY and things that the students are interested in, so that they will be engaged and find it enjoyable.
4. Why are you (the teacher) using so many different assessments and what are they?
Students often complain about having to take tests all of the time, but this is for their benefit only. By giving students tests frequently, I am able to evaluate the student’s progess and level of understanding of the concept. If they student has completely missed the idea, I am going to go back and teach it differents.
The three types of assessments I give are formative, summative, and authentic. Formative assessments happen spur of the moment, throughout the day in class, and it can be something as simple as asking a question aloud and getting feedback from the students. Summative assessments are more challenging and are usually given at the end of the unit. This will test the knowledge of the whole concept. Authentic assessment is an opportunity to see students relate their newly acquired knowledge to the world they live in. This might be giving them an assignment to do out of class, such as an interview, or having them build something.
5. How important are the high stakes test scores compared to authentic assessment? Although the high stakes tests are looked at by the state and the school board, and are a reflection of my teaching abilities, they are not my number one concern. Because the tests of the same for everyone, I feel that some questions may not be appropriate for all students. With my authentic assessments, I am looking to see if the students have grasped the knowledge they actually need, and hoping that it has sunk into their brains and that it’s not simple something they have just memorized for a test.
6. Why is it important for students to understand media literacy? It is important for all students to understand media literacy, because it can affect their entire future. The media is full of lies, telling boys and girls what they need to look like, how much money they need to make, what kind of house they need to live in, and millions of other lies. They need to understand that the media is trying to make money, and that it doesn’t always portray the truth.
They also need to understand the severity of pornography, and understand the path that it is likely to take them down. These issues are no joke, and often times students do not think about the consequences.
According to Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development, there are 4 stages of metal development in a person’s life: Sensorimotor (birth-2 years), preoperational (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-11 years), formal operational (11-adult). High school students and middle school students are not able to process the same information, because their minds are not in the same place developmentally. This is why the curriculum for the two is different.
2. How will you (the teacher) create a positive classroom environment to accommodate diverse students?
From day one, I will encourage creativity and challenge students to be who they really are. Regardless of ethnicity, money or language, it is easy for people to pretend to be someone who they are not. I will challenge my students to be who they are, and I will encourage my students to be accepting of EVERYONE and accept everyone’s differences. We don’t all want to be the same….How boring!
3. How will your teaching be developmentally appropriate?
I will constantly be aware of what’s going on in the world around us and adapt my lessons to that. I will relate my lessons to things that are happening TODAY and things that the students are interested in, so that they will be engaged and find it enjoyable.
4. Why are you (the teacher) using so many different assessments and what are they?
Students often complain about having to take tests all of the time, but this is for their benefit only. By giving students tests frequently, I am able to evaluate the student’s progess and level of understanding of the concept. If they student has completely missed the idea, I am going to go back and teach it differents.
The three types of assessments I give are formative, summative, and authentic. Formative assessments happen spur of the moment, throughout the day in class, and it can be something as simple as asking a question aloud and getting feedback from the students. Summative assessments are more challenging and are usually given at the end of the unit. This will test the knowledge of the whole concept. Authentic assessment is an opportunity to see students relate their newly acquired knowledge to the world they live in. This might be giving them an assignment to do out of class, such as an interview, or having them build something.
5. How important are the high stakes test scores compared to authentic assessment?
Although the high stakes tests are looked at by the state and the school board, and are a reflection of my teaching abilities, they are not my number one concern. Because the tests of the same for everyone, I feel that some questions may not be appropriate for all students. With my authentic assessments, I am looking to see if the students have grasped the knowledge they actually need, and hoping that it has sunk into their brains and that it’s not simple something they have just memorized for a test.
6. Why is it important for students to understand media literacy?
It is important for all students to understand media literacy, because it can affect their entire future. The media is full of lies, telling boys and girls what they need to look like, how much money they need to make, what kind of house they need to live in, and millions of other lies. They need to understand that the media is trying to make money, and that it doesn’t always portray the truth.
They also need to understand the severity of pornography, and understand the path that it is likely to take them down. These issues are no joke, and often times students do not think about the consequences.